THANKFUL TODAY

I am thankful today that I am here to celebrate Christmas with my family. We will gather later in the afternoon through tomorrow's Christmas eve service at our church with our daughters and their family, along with Brenda's dad J.C. We will eat, fellowship, exchange presents and have fun during this time. I thank all my family for all the encouragement and help during my recovery. I thank God for allowing me to continue with the rest of my life.

I am recovering nicely. I have one arm out of everything and it still is stiff and hurts. My other arm still has pins and bar on it. Will come off Jan. 5. The braces come off my mouth Jan. 7. I am really looking forward to getting this done. I can eat now. I cannot eat hard things. I haven't got many teeth. I have 2 partials. My jaws are still real sore. I look forward to the day they don't hurt. I still see double if I don't tilt my head back. That makes my neck tired. I will have to have an operation on my eye to correct this at a later date.

It sounds like I am complaining but I am not. I am so happy to be doing this good. When I think of how it could be now I cringe. I could be paralyzed neck down, waist down, brain damaged, blind and the list goes on. So I am lucky to be in this shape. God was not through with me. I love to sing. I sing in the choir and I sing solos. I am using the talent He gave me to sing Oh Holy Night during the Christmas Eve service at our church. That is one thing God uses me for and I am happy to do it for Him.

In closing I wish all who visit this blog a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May you feel the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in your life during this season and throughout the year. God Bless from our home to yours, Larry and Brenda (Grammy and Papa)

Five weeks ago today

Notice the black cover on left arm, cast is off. I will get the bar and pins removed on right arm Monday. I will also get unwired the same day. I am hoping my mouth will work freely. I am a little nervous about that. My surgery was 5 weeks ago today. 2.5 weeks on right arm, second surgery. I cannot see clearly if I look straight ahead. I have to tilt my head back to see. My eye socket was crushed on right side. They can fix it with more surgeries later. I am hoping glasses can fix the double vision. Simply my right eye is not in the right place. I still have a way to go before I am well but am well on the way. I am still so thankful to God for all the prayers lifted and for sparing me for more use. I hear so many stories of people falling such short distances and getting paralyzed and even killed. It makes me cringe to hear that and know how far I fell. God was looking after me for sure.

I am able to dress myself now. I can do most of my hygiene duties. Grammy still blends my meals and still gives me a shower. I may want my shower continued after I am well. I know what all of you are thanking so quit it. I can use my hands some but not any heavy lifting. Hopefully I can do more after Monday. My hands are very stiff. I still do not have more than 50 percent of the feeling back in my face. It may take up to a year to get that back and some will never be back. That started to bother me and I just decided to not worry about that. For those who know me, I am a person who worries and some times gets depressed. I suffered from severe depression at age 30 for a year or so. I was given xanax for that and panic attacks which I had for years. It worked and the attacks subsided after some time. I continued taking the med for probably 15 more years because of fear of more attacks. If you never had panic attacks it is life shattering. Those that suffer know what I am saying. Anyway on to my reason for bringing this up. I was taking 3 mg daily when I was so sick. Over the years I tapered myself off to .25mg daily which is a very small amount. When I was in the hospital, I was not given any xanax. When I was being released the Dr. asked if I wanted a prescription for it and I said no because I had not taken any for 2 weeks. Praise GOD I am off of that very powerful addictive drug, however it is a great drug when you need it. I do not have panic attacks any more. I say that to say this. Through this tough time I have not been depressed, I have not complained very much and have not felt sorry for myself. I told Leslie one day that this mountain was very hard to climb and she said, Dad most of them are. How true, but what matters is How you climb it. I am climbing it with a purpose. The purpose is to do whatever God has left for me to do. I praise God for all who have prayed for me. I love you all, Larry

2 WEEKS AGO TODAY

THE LADDER I RODE DOWN TO CONCRETE

I was in the hospital in great pain awaiting surgery which came on Wednesday. I am thankful for all for your comments and prayers. I almost killed myself. All of you who cut corners to get the job done quickly in lieu of safety, don't do it. I put a ladder on a table to get done quickly. Guess what I didn't get done quick or even get it done at all. Yep, the job is still waiting.

In the blink of an eye your life can change. Mine did. I will probably recover fully over some months. I will forever be grateful to GOD for allowing me to live more. I love GOD an am blessed by Him. I have such a good family and they have been by my side. I thank you all. My wife has been the best during my illness. She is my helper. I love her very much.

I am recovering very quickly and am gaining strength every day. It is difficult to type with 2 fingers with arms casted. I went to worship service and bible study yesterday to every one's amazement. I thank you all. Papa

Surgery Went As Planned

They took Papa down around 6 a.m. yesterday and he got back to his room a few minutes before 10 p.m. I got to the hospital about 1 p.m. as my sister and I were taking shifts. Charlie was able to come home at lunch to take care of Miss S. My sister had a doctor's appt. that afternoon that she really needed to get to, so it worked out for at least one of us to be there with Mom the whole time. Over the course of the day, one of Mom's friends was there, Lisa's husband came, and some of Charlie's family came by as well. We also waited the whole time with two sisters whose Dad was having major surgery for cancer. Please remember John L. in your prayers for Papa as well. Mr. L. had a lot of his throat, voicebox, lymph nodes and something else removed. He has been fighting this for several months now. He came out of surgery just about an hour before my Dad.

So the orthopaedic doctor came out about 1 p.m. to let us know that they had finished with Dad's wrists. Some great news here: the right wrist had to only be casted with no pins! He said the break was clean and not nearly as bad as the left. Dad is right-handed so this is a huge praise. On his left wrist, they put in plates and pins but they felt like it went very well. It is casted as well. Both are past the elbow, so that is going to be tough on Mom and Dad. My Dad likes to stay busy, and he always has projects going on. I think his blog may just be a "light" for him during this recovery once he figures out how to type. His fingers are sticking out of his casts and he can move them just fine.

As the afternoon progressed, we got a couple of updates that his face surgery was going well. About 6:30 p.m., the doctors (he had 3 working on his face!), came out to say they had finished and he did well. They were pleased and found no surprises. They put in 6 plates in all: his chin, his right cheekbone, his right eye socket, and maybe his forehead I think. His left cheekbone and eye socket were not broken, so that was a praise. They also reset his nose and found the missing teeth—up in his gums. Ouch!

We had to wait some more b/c he was slow to wake up but not abnormally so. About 9:30, they came out and let my Mom go back. Before long, she came out and got me and went back out as only one at a time could go in. I was talking to Dad and the nurse said, Your Mom can come back and anyone else that wants as he is the only one left back here! So, I went back out and got my Mom and BIL Wayne and we were able to visit with Dad for a little while. He was very groggy and in a lot of pain, but he was still himself. He is feisty (wonder where I get it :) and has a bit of a bulldog persona (hmmm) and it was coming out even through his mouth that was wired shut! It was good to see, and we know these personality traits will help speed up his recovery. We are prepared for a long one, but knowing my Dad he'll surprise everyone. Last night, Wayne and I left, but my Mom was able to stay in the room with Dad which was good because she had not gotten to see him yesterday morning before his surgery due to a little miscommunication and hospital snafu. It was good that they "bent" the rules to let her stay in the room with him last night. I just hope they both got some much-needed rest.

On a lighter note, please think about Miss S. today too as she got 3 shots yesterday and is running a fever and was up most of the night. I just worry a bit more about her b/c of her heart. I know she has to get the shots, but we will be going every month for awhile to get caught up. Though she is not going to have to have all of them, she still needs some of the series b/c they either didn't take or she didn't get the right ones. She also had to have blood drawn and she was not happy with Mommy!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and notes of encouragement. I can promise you that as soon as he is able, Papa will be sitting up at a computer checking out his blog and all the posts and comments. Blessings to you all

Update on Papa

(This is Leslie posting for Papa and Grammy.)

Dad did not have surgery today after all. He is scheduled to have both surgeries for his wrists and his face fractures tomorrow morning beginning at 8 a.m. The doctor said the cranio-facial team will work probably at least seven hours. Pray for my Mom especially to have peace, myself and my sister as well. Also pray for my Dad to be comforted as only God can and that the surgery will be successful, for the doctors and nurses and surgical teams, and for God to be evident through this terrible accident and Dad's recovery from it. Some of my blog readers might remember that Papa helped "hold down the fort" at Jonah's 10th birthdday party while we were in China and Grammy was recovering from emergency surgery. He is a great husband, father, son-in-law, father-in-law and Papa! Here is a picture of Papa with the boys at Jonah's birthday party.



And these two are from Jackson's birthday party this summer. You can see all of his grandchildren plus another cousin who calls him "Papa" too!

SLEEP OVER AT GRAMMYLAND THE NIGHT BEFORE

Grammys dad, Oldtimer eating watermellon July 4th, 08
This pix has nothing to do with this post, just thought it was cute


Grammy and Papa plan to have the boys sleep over Monday night. They haven't been in quite a while. They get to come more when school is not in session. The girls are planning to come after school and stay until bedtime. Susannah is not yet able to spend the night. Caroline is coming to be with her until bedtime. They all love to come. There are many things to do here. Their favorite things are playing with toys in the basement and riding go carts.

We went to church today. It was a real good service. We did a good special music piece. Four of us had solo parts. We all felt the Lord in that place today. We also had a real good bible study following the morning worship service. Our pastor M. is a down to earth guy. He is a really good man. He and his wife adopted five children in the same family ranging from four to twelve. They have had them a year now. The children have adjusted really well.

Black powder hunting season opened for deer November 1. I have not gone yet but plan to go before it closes Nov. 8. I would like to see a big buck. Only a hunter would understand hunting deer. It is a good sport and people do eat the animals. I usually give them to people who really like deer meat. I am not real fond of it.

I will go for now and will post again after the sleep over tomorrow. They will go home on Tuesday afternoon. I will take some pix of them. Papa

Leslies dinner party (by Grammy)

We ate at Leslie's tonight with her and Susannah and other family members. Grammy had made some soup from Leslie's left overs. It was very good. Everyone was amazed by Susannah. She entertained everyone. She was not in the very best mood. Her brothers had gone somewhere for a little while and she missed them. She gave most everyone hugs and kisses though. She played the piano too. She was turning flips and everyone was scared for her until her mom said she does it all time. Not bad after heart surgery.

We went to two of our grandchildren soccer games today also. One g'child won and the other lost. Not too much fun when you lose. Everyone had fun though. It was a little chilly at the fields. I hung some sheet rock in the garage between games. I also fell off a short stool and wrenched my neck and hurt my back. I have found out the older you get the more accident proned you are. I was being very careful too. My friend C. has agreed to help me hang it on the ceiling. That is a very hard job. We will be going to church tomorrow. Hope to see you there. God is good and we love Him. Thanks for your prayers for Britney. She is better but still has a way to go. She is at home from the hospital.
Papa

Britney

Britney is better today. She is still very sick. She is still in some danger but I think not life threatening. I appreciate all your concern and prayers. Continue to pray for her and her family. I will update when I get more information. My brother said thank you also for your prayers.

Grammy and Papa

URGENT PRAY REQUEST

My brother called today to tell me that his daughter-in-law is in the hospital with eclampsia. Her name is Britney and she is only 19 years old. This is a condition that can occur during pregnancy and after delivery of a newborn. She is very, very ill. This is a life threatening condition. She is in a hospital in Tennessee. Please pray for her recovery from this very serious condition. She is young and very scared. She has two children. One is one year old and the second is nine days old. I know God answers prayers. He answered many in my granddaughter Susannah's case. Please pray hard for her. She needs to know his presence very badly. Pray that she will feel his hand on her tonight and tomorrow. Thank you all. Papa and Grammy

ANOTHER VISIT TO GRAMMYLAND

Leslie and Susannah came over today to play on the playground and go into the playhouse on stilts. It is not a real tree house but is very neat. She played on the merry-go-round that was built by her great granddaddy for her mother when she was a little girl. Lisa and Leslie played on it at our second house. She didn't stay very long. Leslie had to go home to meet her brothers. Before she left though, I made her mad by taking a little truck from her to show her how to run it down the see-saw, and then she got mad at everyone here. It doesn't take much to set her off.

We are going to church in a few minutes. We eat supper there go to prayer meeting and then I go to choir practice. I love to sing. Grammy comes home because she does not sing much. I do not have much interesting to write about today. Not much happens when you are retired unless the kids come over. I am however sheet rocking the garage. I have to have something to keep me busy and out of Grammy's hair. She insists on that. We do however do lots of things together.

Must go will blog later. Papa

Susannah's first tea party at Grammyland

Leslie and Susannah showed up at Grammyland today, and we were not expecting her. It was a pleasant surprise. Before long Granddaddy showed up and went across the street to get M.J. our neighbor and his friend that he does things with to pass the time.
A little while later guess who else showed up? You guessed it. Aunt Sissy, Leslie's sister. Then everyone was acting crazy and making over her taking pictures and called our next door neighbor and asked if she would like to see her. Of course she did and she came over also. You never know who will show up at Grammyland. When our daughters come over it is not too long before they say we haven't eaten yet, are you all hungry? So you guessed it again we fed everyone, well almost everyone. Granddaddy and M.J. had already gone and eaten. Before long Granddaddy showed up again. He visited a while and left. Papa was going to work in the garage hanging sheetrock. That went by the wayside. I didn't mind. I love my new granddaughter. I am going dove shooting this afternoon though. I will write more later.




This is Susannah's Granddaddy, and his friend from across the street. Her name is M.J. She is a very nice lady. Granddaddy went over to get her on the golf cart to let her see Susannah.





This is a video of her first tea party at Grammyland.

This is a slide show of her tea party.



I will update you later on the activity at Grammyland.

Papa and Grammy

MIRACLES, MOUNTAINS AND MORE

From Papa and Grammy in Tennessee.

While Leslie, Charlie and Cindy were in China awaiting things to be done and things to
be worked out by God clearing the obstacles in their path, miracles were also happening in the USA. Grammy and Papa were in constant contact either by phone or email with them.

We knew things were not going as planned. We also were fearful for them. It is hard to have your loved ones so far away. We trusted God to watch over them while they were there. He did. Prayers were being circulated all over the USA and other countries. We know without a doubt he was answering them.

Let me tell you some things that were happening here in our country. First of all after we knew that things were very complicated. Leslie said we need help from our officials. We went into action with our local Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn’s office. A case worker named S. went into action for us. She wanted to know how she could help.

We told her Leslie needs help with many things I will not go into. I will share some of them with you readers. Les said she desperately need Susannah’s visa by a certain time. S. was in contact with many people to make that happen. It was not an easy thing to get accomplished. God worked that out at the exact time that it was needed. We know he uses people every day to accomplish His will. That mountain was removed and cast into the sea.

Another mountain Leslie needed removed was when they arrived in Chicago they need someone to take them through customs quickly because Susannah was very ill. She had just been on a sixteen hour flight from China and was on oxygen all that time. Her heart was very sick and her body was very oxygen deprived. S. went into action and contacted whoever needed to be called and when they arrived at O’Hara airport in Chicago someone met them and took them through customs immediately. They did not have to wait one minute. Another mountain cast into the sea.

One particular airline would not let them have oxygen on the plane from Chicago to Nashville so Charlie called me and asked if I could pick them up in Louisville, Ky. He was going to drive from Chicago to Louisville and be picked up there because no one would rent one way from there to home. Grammy was on the phone with another dear friend to our family and she said to her, Lisa and I are holding out for an airplane. There was dead silence on the other end. S.B. said I know someone who has an airplane. Let me call him. She did and called back and said he will fly up to Midway and pick them up and fly them to John Tune airport in Nashville. We called Les and Charlie in the middle of the night in China and told them about this miracle. Les was a little reluctant to get on a single engine airplane but Charlie got on the phone and said I think she is still asleep and not thinking clearly I will make that decision, we will take that offer. Another mountain cast into the sea.

That was worked out with the pilot B.S. that God had sent to our family. We firmly believe that. The next hurtle was that she had to have oxygen on that little plane for the two hour flight to Nashville.

The next miracle. A prescription had been written for the oxygen by Dr. L. from Vanderbilt. I took it to a place after calling and confirming that they had an oxygen generator. I immediately went to pick it up for I had to get it to B.S. by noon. I got there about nine AM. I was doing well until she came out and said we thought we had one but we do not. We have one in Springfield. My heart sunk and I said God please not another mountain to climb. We do not need this one. So I said I will go and pick it up, I have to have it by noon. She said well there is no one there right now. They were desperately trying to figure out what to do for me. During all the conversations another lady in the office over heard the conversation and said, oh I have one of those in my trunk. Can you believe that? I said Praise God, and another mountain was cast into the sea. I felt so relieved. I got the device and took it to the house of the pilot. He took it and flew to Midway airport while our family was being driven to Midway. Oh I forgot our other son-in-law got a limo and had them picked up at O’Hara and drove to Midway. Leslie, Charlie and Susannah and our pilot arrived at the same time at Midway, coming from two directions, another mountain cast into the sea. This man who flew to pick up strangers who he did not know sacrificed something scheduled that night for his child which he missed. That is true love for others that only God can instill in people.

In closing, I just wanted to let the readers know what miracles and mountains were being moved in Tennessee by God's helpers. I did not always buy into God intervening into situations. I have no doubt that GOD orchestrated everything that happened from September 11 to the arrival at their home at 8:30 PM that night to a yard full of friends who had been waiting a long time to welcome them home.

Papa and Grammy

QUEEN FOR A DAY

Grammy got a supprise on Monday of this week. She had to have emergency gall bladder surgury. The operation took place at our local hospitol. Dr Y our family doctor sent her to get cat scan and another Dr. Y operated on her at 7:30 PM. (two Dr. Y's In one day). He finished at 9:30 PM. The operation went well and she is doing real fine. She is still in the hospitol but will come home tomorrow, Thursday. She was named Queen for a day by my daugher. So the title is as such. She has not had much pain and has been eating ever since the surgury.

She is getting anxious to come home. You can't keep a good woman down. She was in the hospitol 35 years ago with our second child. Grammy has been blessed with good health all her life. We thank God for that. He has been very good to us. We are blessed beyond measure. We have two daughters, five grandchildren, her father and many friends. We are both retired and able to enjoy life.

Papa

Well, it wont be long until our granddaughter, Susannah comes home to live in the USA.
Leslie and Charlie fly out Sept. 11 to go to China. They will be gone for 2 weeks or so.
We are going to keep the boys, Jonah and Jackson while they are gone. Grammy and Papa will be taking over all the chores of school, soccer, scouts and etc. while they are away. I hope we can keep up with all of it. We did it before but it has been a long time. We are looking farward to it though. We wish Mom, Dad and Cindy well on the trip. Papa and Grammy

GRAMMYLAND

Hope everyone has a happy Labor Day. God Bless you and God Bless America. Papa and Grammy